


there's a hope song in the air

by BridgetMcKennitt



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Baking, Developing Relationship, Failwolf, M/M, Oblivious Derek, Pack Bonding, post-season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2013-07-03
Packaged: 2017-12-17 11:44:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/867154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BridgetMcKennitt/pseuds/BridgetMcKennitt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Almost everything had been taken from Derek, yet he remained standing. Now it was time to rebuild his pack bonds and his friendship with Scott. Rebuilding pack bonds would be relatively easy compared to building a friendship with Scott. For that, Derek decided, he was going to go through Stiles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	there's a hope song in the air

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jucee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jucee/gifts).



By the time the Alpha pack was no longer a concern for anyone, Derek was drained. The bonds between him and the members of his pack were strained, almost to the breaking point, and while he was thrilled Cora was alive, they were practically strangers. 

Derek was alone.

Derek thought his loneliness would last a lifetime if it wasn't for Isaac. Isaac who got up in his face and demanded he do something, to stop wallowing in his issues. Cora peeked out from behind the column and Derek tried not to flinch at her solemn expression.

"Derek?" Isaac called out.

Derek focused his attention on him and nodded sharply. He could feel their bond trying to fix itself, the fibers frayed, but possible to heal if there was enough time and care. "I can try."

Cora darted out from behind the column and Derek braced himself as she wrapped him in a tight hug. Isaac soon followed and Derek had no choice but to hug them in return.

Their bonds swelled just a little, but that was enough for Derek. He was going to do better for his pack.

The first thing he did was go online and purchased furniture for both Cora and Isaac. The Alphas were gone and Isaac could live with him in the loft once more. It wasn't fancy, he didn't care for fancy, but it was sturdy and functional. Yet, judging by the looks on Isaac and Cora's faces, it was like he bought them beds made out of gold. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

When Cora left a self-help book on his bed one morning, he decided to read it. A lot of it didn't apply to him, and a lot of it made him throw the book across the room only to go and pick it up again, but there was some things in there he could use. Isaac would take any scrap of affection he'd give, that wasn't a problem, and he didn't care to strengthen his bond with Peter, but he could use some of the book's suggestions with Boyd and Scott.

Scott.

When they'd first met, Derek was ready to call Scott a brother. _Had_ called Scott a brother, and Scott outright rejected him. Scott continued to reject him and Derek didn't know how to change that.

He looked down at the open book and its suggestion of mending a relationship with a person through other means. One such method was through that person's friends. Scott didn't really have any friends though, no one except Stiles.

It hit Derek how he could become friends with Scott and he tossed the book aside as he left the loft. If Stiles was happy with Derek, then Scott would automatically look at him in a better light. It was perfect. Derek wasn't sure how exactly he'd make Stiles happy, but he'd find a way. He hopped into his car and drove towards Stiles' house.

The sheriff's car wasn't in the driveway, but Stiles' jeep was, so Derek parked his car around the corner and jogged back. Stiles was in his room, so Derek knocked on his front door and waited. Stiles came stomping down the stairs and opened the door.

"Derek?"

Derek nodded. "May I come in?" He could be nice. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he could play things by ear.

Stiles gave him a funny look. "Is someone dead or dying?"

"No."

"Then no can do!" Stiles shut the door on his face and Derek was left standing there, unsure of what to do next.

*

Boyd joined the pack primarily so he wouldn't be alone. When Erica died, he had distanced himself from the pack until there were only a few strands of pack bond between him and Derek. Derek couldn't let that stand, not when he was trying to not be alone.

He waited until Boyd got off of work and met him outside the ice skating rink. Boyd merely gave him a cautious look, but didn't tell him to scram, so Derek took that as a positive sign.

"I know we still have a lot to work out, and I failed you on many levels, but I wanted to try and be your friend." Derek recited the words he had read from the self-help book and had practiced over and over at the loft.

"How?"

"We'll go out and eat lunch tomorrow. My treat." The book said that food was a great way to smooth over tension and forge bonds. He wasn't much of a cook, but he had money to pay for food.

"Fine. You pick me up and drop me off at my house. Two okay?"

Derek nodded and as Boyd moved to walk past him, Derek stopped him. "I can drive you home if you want. I don't mind."

He thought Boyd would say no, but he just shrugged and followed Derek to his car.

Lunch the next day wasn't so bad. Derek wasn't great with conversations, neither was Boyd, but they managed to find some things to talk about. Derek didn't push Boyd into insinuating himself further into the pack, but they made plans to have lunch again and Derek considered that a success. His attempt with Boyd was much more of a success over his attempt with Stiles, and therefore his attempt with Scott. Something had to be done.

Food seemed to work well with Boyd, so maybe it'd have better odds working with Stiles. It was true he wasn't much of a cook, but back when they used to live in New York, Laura loved his desserts. He drove to the grocery store to pick up some supplies.

The smell of cookies filled the loft and Cora couldn't help but crowd behind him as he watched the oven. The first couple of cookie trays still had a couple of minutes left before he could pull them out.

"What flavor is that?" she asked.

"Chocolate peanut butter." He didn't know if Stiles liked chocolate peanut butter, but most people liked chocolate and peanut butter. If Stiles didn't like the cookies, he could always make something else.

"It smells delicious. Can I have some?"

"When they've cooled down." He opened the oven door and pulled out the trays, setting them down on the counter. Cora stared at him, but Derek ignored her. The heat didn't bother him.

The smell brought Isaac down from his room, asking for a cookie, and Derek began another batch of cookies.

*

This time when Derek went to Stiles' house, his father was home as well. He glanced at the container filled with cookies and decided to continue with his plan of using the front door. If the Sheriff questioned him, he'd offer him cookies.

Derek knocked on the front door and waited. The Sheriff opened the door and raised his eyebrow at him.

"Yes?"

"I'm here to see Stiles. Is he home?" Derek knew Stiles was home, but he thought it was more polite to ask. The self-help book said it was easier if he was polite in his requests. "I have cookies. I made them for Stiles, but you could have some as well." He lifted the container's lid so the Sheriff could smell it.

"Come in." The Sheriff moved aside so Derek could enter the house.

The Sheriff didn't trust him, Derek could tell even without his werewolf abilities, but at least he let him in.

Stiles came thundering down the stairs and stopped cold at the bottom. "What the...Derek?"

The Sheriff took Derek's container of cookies from his hands. "Your friend made us cookies. Say thank you, Stiles." The way he said friend sounded off.

" _What_?"

"You can bring him up to your room, but the door better stay open." As the Sheriff turned to walk away, Stiles sprung into motion.

"Whoa, hey! You're not allowed to eat those. What are they?"

"They're chocolate peanut butter cookies," Derek said, helpfully.

The Sheriff picked up a cookie and bit into it. "It's good." He narrowed his eyes at Stiles. "Take the out, Stiles. I'll eat some cookies, you can talk to your friend." Again, the word friend sounded off. Derek understood he wasn't the type of person to be considered anyone's friend, but he was going to fix that.

When the Sheriff turned his back on them, Stiles grabbed Derek's wrist and pulled him up the stairs. They reached Stiles' room and Stiles shut the door behind them. He spun around and glared at Derek.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I was baking and decided to share some cookies with you. Cora and Isaac liked them."

"I don't care if they liked them," Stiles said, hissing out the words. "I don't want you here trying to ruin my dad's diet."

"I can't cook for shit, but I can make desserts. I could make something more healthier with fruits in it."

Stiles let out a bitter laugh before shaking his head. "Yeah, because that was the whole point of what I was talking about. Was there anything else you wanted besides dropping off cookies?"

He wanted Stiles to be happy for Scott's sake. He didn't need Scott in his pack, though that would be nice, but he wanted Scott to consider him like a brother.

Derek shook his head. "Not really."

"Then haul your furry ass out of my house so I can finish my homework."

Derek walked down the stairs, glimpsing the Sheriff in the living room eating his cookies, before leaving through the front door.

The next time he went out for lunch with Boyd, he took Isaac and Cora with him. They were all strangers, but Derek wanted to fix that.

"Order whatever you want. My treat."

Cora's shoulder pressed against his as she looked over the menu. Boyd and Isaac sat across from them in the booth.

"I want a milkshake." Suddenly Cora laughed. "Do you remember when you and Laura took me to get my first milkshake and I couldn't handle the straw?"

He remembered. "You spilled your milkshake everywhere, including Laura's new skirt. I thought she was going to wolf out right then and there."

Cora eyed him. "I'm not saying either way, but I might just spill my milkshake on you."

Boyd and Isaac looked amused, and Derek was thankful Cora brought up that memory. He shrugged before nudging Cora's shoulder. "Then I'm going to need a milkshake. It's been awhile since I used a straw, too."

They ended up getting kicked out of the diner after milkshake ended up everywhere in a play fight, but Derek didn't care, not when the end result was his pack members laughing and happy. At least for the moment. Derek closed his eyes and saw the bonds between them and him a little more healthier looking and less like frayed rope. If he continued on this path, their bonds would be like they should have been, like they were when his mother was Alpha.

He really needed to focus on Scott though.

This time he was in the kitchen baking a pie made with healthy ingredients and blueberries decorating the top. Cora sat on the counter to watch him, though Derek suspected she wanted pie. Isaac would be home soon and he'd also want pie.

"You're just like mom," Cora said and Derek stiffened. "She couldn't boil water to save her life, but when it came to making desserts, she was a goddess. Who are you trying to impress?"

Cora was the one who gave him the self-help book, so she wouldn't laugh at his plan. She didn't like Scott, but she understood family. "I want Scott to like me as a brother."

"So they're for Scott?"

Derek shook his head. "Scott would never accept me directly. I tried that before and it never worked. So I'm going through Stiles instead."

He took the pie out of the oven to let it cool before sticking another one in.

"I guess that makes sense? Is it working?"

"Not yet. He wasn't happy his dad ate my cookies, so I'm bringing him a healthy pie."

Cora patted Derek's shoulder. "Good luck on that. For what it's worth, I think your desserts are amazing. They'll totally change Stiles' mind about you."

*

The Sheriff was home, but this time it was Stiles who answered the door. He looked suspicious, but Derek offered him the blueberry pie.

"Let me guess, you made this?"

Derek nodded. "It's healthier than the cookies I baked, so there shouldn't be any problems with your dad eating it."

Stiles stared at him like Derek had lost his mind. Suddenly, the Sheriff appeared and greeted Derek.

"What did you bring for us this time?" He took the pie from Stiles' hands. "Pie? I love pie. Thank you, Derek."

"Wait, you can't eat that!"

"I just heard Derek say it was healthy, and there's fruit in here, so I can eat it." The Sheriff looked back at Derek. "Stiles is just mad I ate most of the cookies you brought the last time. He liked them and wanted more."

"Dad!"

"Come on, kid, let him in. I'll cut up some pieces of pie for us."

Derek followed the Sheriff into the kitchen with Stiles in the rear as the Sheriff got a knife and some plates. Derek stood awkwardly while the Sheriff plated some pie slices and Stiles kept giving him weird looks. The Sheriff offered a plate to Derek.

"Since you made it, you get the first slice."

"Thank you, sir."

While it looked like the Sheriff enjoyed his slice of pie, Stiles ate it like the pie offended him which wasn't what Derek wanted at all. If Scott was going to consider Derek a brother, Stiles needed to be on Derek's side.

"Derek, any time you want to bake us more desserts, I am all right with that," the Sheriff said. "I need to head out, but Stiles is here."

"What? No. I'm not going to-" Stiles broke off at the Sheriff's look. "Right. Come on, Derek. Let's go to my room."

When they reached Stiles' room, Derek stood awkwardly in the corner. "Did you not like the pie I made?" he asked. If Derek didn't, there were other desserts he could make that Stiles might like instead.

"It was good. So were the cookies. I'm more concerned about _why_ you keep making me baked goods. My dad's pretty thrilled about it, keeps making noises about inviting you over for dinner, but I'm not buying it."

Derek stared him down, not wanting to give himself away. He didn't want Stiles to know he was using him only for Scott. Stiles was human and there were no pack bonds between them, but he didn't want to antagonize Stiles. His plan wouldn't work if he did that.

Stiles finally sighed. "Scott's been hearing from Isaac on how you're turning over a new leaf. Have you?"

Derek tried not to look as smug as he felt at that moment. Isaac didn't even know of his plan and he was helping him. "I don't want to be alone."

Stiles looked taken aback. "Oh."

"I'm fixing what I can, however I can."

"Right, so you're doing the thing with the thing and it's working."

Derek had no clue what Stiles was talking about, but since Stiles visibly relaxed, Derek decided to ignore it.

"So, Derek, I think I'm going to help you. Might as well make things easier for me, right? Right."

Derek didn't think Stiles was talking about helping him with Scott, but whatever made Stiles happy was part of his plan. "Okay?"

"Since dad's okay with you staying home with me, which by the way, kinda blows my mind, I think we should take the opportunity to watch a movie in the living room. What do you say?"

Derek shrugged as he followed Stiles back downstairs. It wouldn't be so bad, and he figured watching movies would be a nice step up with his pack after lunches.

He sat next to Stiles on the couch as the opening scenes began to play on the television screen. At first, Stiles sat rigid and kept glancing over at him, but as the movie went on, he loosened up until he was sprawling over his side.

The movie wasn't bad, not something he'd watch on his own, but Stiles made it bearable with his comments and belly laughs. He wouldn't mind doing it again.

"Think dad would mind if we finished off the rest of the pie?" asked Stiles as he got up and stretched.

"Maybe? I could always make more. I already make enough for Cora and Isaac when I bake for you and your dad."

Stiles' eyes widened and he coughed into his fist. "That would be nice. All right, let's do demolish some pie."

*

Derek split his time between baking desserts, spending time with his pack, and spending time with Stiles. He knew the more he did well with Isaac and Stiles, the more it'd get back to Scott and he'd change his mind. As he smiled over at Stiles as they came out of the movie theaters, he knew Scott would see him as a brother. Stiles already did.

"I know you hated it, but what did you think about the fighting sequences? I bet they could give you a run for your money."

"Maybe."

Stiles laughed. "You just love showing off with your back flips. That doesn't count."

Derek waited until they were in the parking lot before doing just that, a back flip. Stiles slapped his palm against his thigh as he bent over laughing. Derek took a bow before taking out his car keys.

"You are hilarious. Who said you could be funny?"

"The self-help book Cora got for me. It's been helping." Derek opened his door and slid inside the car.

Stiles got into the front passenger seat and turned to gape at Derek. "You're joking with me, right? Right? There's no way you're reading a self-help book."

"I am. It gave me good ideas with you and the pack."

"That must be a good book, considering how far you've come. I'm impressed." Stiles put on his seatbelt. "Dad wants you over for dinner tonight."

"What's he making?"

"Uh, if he knows what's good for him, something with lots of vegetables, but knowing him, it'll be hamburgers."

"I like hamburgers. I'll go."

"Good, because if I told my dad you weren't coming over, I think he'd cry. He loves your desserts."

"And you?" Derek glanced over at Stiles before driving the car out of the parking lot of the mall.

"What? Oh, I love your desserts, too. Top notch, would eat again."

They made it to Stiles' house and Derek parked in the driveway right behind Stiles' jeep. Stiles opened the door and Derek was hit with the smell of grilled burgers.

As they entered the dining room, the Sheriff was just setting up the table. "Derek, glad you came. I hope you like burgers."

"I do."

He nodded. "We still have some of your malted chocolate pudding cake left over from the other night. We can eat that as dessert." He looked at Stiles and there was a smug grin on his face. "And according to Derek, it's healthy and made with low fat ingredients."

"Yeah, yeah. Derek is the best, we get it."

Once the food was ready and on the table, the three sat down and began eating. Derek had never been able to grill like his father, or even at all. He always managed to burn his meat. Derek shared this story with the Stilinskis.

The Sheriff laughed. "And yet you can make desserts like a dream. How are you even possible?"

"My mother was the same way. She could never explain it either. I just take after her."

"Well, I don't care if you're a terrible cook, just as long as you keep providing us with delicious desserts." The Sheriff reached for his glass to take a drink of water. "So I never did get a straight answer out of Stiles. How long have you two been dating?"

Derek dropped his burger as his eyes widened. He stumbled out of his seat as Stiles called out his name. Derek listened to the sound of Stiles' heartbeat and inhaled his scent, and he didn't understand. He'd been trying to get Scott to see him as a brother, not try to date Stiles. As nice as it had been to spend time with Stiles, that hadn't been his plan at all.

"Derek, are you okay?" The Sheriff stood up and reached out with his arm.

"I have to go. I'm sorry, I have to go." He didn't listen to Stiles' pleas to stop as he ran out of their house. He failed. He failed completely, and he'd been doing so well, too.

*

Derek didn't bother leaving his loft or baking in the kitchen. He didn't answer his phone calls. Isaac took one look at his glare and left, while Cora sat close to him and didn't speak. She only rested her head on his shoulder.

Stiles was supposed to be his way to Scott. Derek wasn't supposed to be his boyfriend, no matter how enjoyable it'd been to eat together, to spend time at the movies, to laugh together, it was all supposed to be for Scott.

"You're sad," Cora finally said. "What happened? Did you break up with Stiles?"

Derek stiffened and fought the urge to withdraw from Cora's touch. "I was never dating Stiles."

She stared at him. "Seriously? I thought that's why you went all baker mode for him. Dad used to say mom did the same for him when they were first started going out. I thought it was sweet you were doing the same and was just using Scott as a deflection."

"I wasn't," he said, grumpiness lacing his words. "I meant it."

"And Stiles? What are you going to do about him? Because I'm pretty sure he likes you and his dad approves of you."

Derek didn't know what to do, and he doubted his self-help book had any answers. "I don't know."

"Do you even like Stiles?"

He didn't answer right away. While it hadn't been his intentions, he did like Stiles once he got to know him. It was comfortable being around him and Derek wanted more comfort in his life, not to mention to no longer be alone. Wasn't that why he decided to strengthen pack bonds? Stiles wasn't pack, but he could be something for him if he let him.

"Yes."

"Then I think you should let him know. Bake him something delicious and go to his house."

Cora was right. He didn't know what he had with Stiles, but he wanted to see where things could go, and that meant talking to Stiles. Which meant he couldn't go there empty handed, not if he didn't want to piss off Stiles any further.

Derek went to the grocery store and came back with bags of ingredients. He had a lot of baking to do.

*

When Stiles opened the front door, he looked like he just wanted to slam it back shut again.

"Wait, I brought food." Derek lifted the tray hidden under a cloth. "May I come in?"

Stiles stepped aside. "I'm only saying yes because if I turned away your desserts, my dad would kill me."

Derek entered the house and they walked to the kitchen. Derek placed the tray down on the counter and took off the cloth. "I made about two dozen tiny fruit tarts alternating between blueberries and strawberries as well as a strawberry rhubarb shortcake."

He glanced at Stiles as Stiles crossed his arms over his chest. "All that, huh? Sounds like you're feeling guilty about something. Maybe when you ran out from dinner like some rude person?"

"That, and more. Stiles, I wasn't trying to date you." Stiles flinched, and Derek hurried with the rest of what he wanted to say. "I wanted Scott to be my friend and since he wouldn't consider anything if I was direct, I went through you instead."

Stiles stared at him. "But we never talked about Scott when we hung out together. Never."

"I thought if I made you happy, Scott would change his mind and consider me a brother."

"I hope you realize how stupid that sounds aloud."

"I hope you realize that I enjoyed spending time with you, and I came by to see, to see..." Derek trailed off. He wasn't good at this and his self-help book didn't have any answers. "I just wanted to see, okay?"

Stiles let out a chuckle and stepped towards Derek, taking Derek's hands in his own. "Okay, so let's see. Considering dad thought we've been dating this entire time, I don't think he'll mind if we hang out in my room." Just as they took a step towards the stairs, Stiles stopped and turned around. "Before we go anywhere, I think I deserve a kiss. You know, since we're dating and all."

Derek stood still as Stiles leaned forward and kissed him. It felt nice and Derek kissed him back, pressing himself against Stiles. When they broke apart, there was a huge smile on Stiles' face.

"Yeah, we're going to do just fine."

As Stiles dragged him upstairs to his room, Derek privately agreed with him. As long as he kept trying, they'd do just fine. He wasn't going to be alone anymore.


End file.
